All Posts in Category: EBCH and the Community

Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital is pleased to unveil a new brand identity, including a new logo.

After months devoted to the development of a new brand look and feel—which included research and multiple discovery sessions with key stakeholders and community members – Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital arrived at a logo that felt truly representative of the facility, its employees, and the community it serves.

The new logo is a reflection of the hospital’s legacy and future: The facility’s initials appear to be cut from an abstract take on the region’s landscape, with layers radiating from the horizon. It’s a look that’s both fresh and invigorating as well as conveying of the solid dependability patients can expect from the organization.

“We are thrilled with our new look,” says Michael Coyle, CEO of EBCH. “Our patients know Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital as a place where they and their loved ones can receive skilled and genuine care. We hope our updated look conveys our warmth toward and commitment to the people we serve. EBCH is and always has been your local, independent resource for the best possible care from the most compassionate people.”

Community members can rest assured that EBCH is not changing ownership or management; the facility will continue to offer the same personalized care it always has.

Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital and the Community Liaison Committee would like to thank everyone who donated to our 2017 “Retire Anne” fundraiser. Through generous donations from our amazing community we were able to purchase over $10,000 of new training material and equipment.

Our new equipment has just arrived and includes not only a new Resusci Anne® but several additional items such as; manuals for Advanced Cardiac Life Support and Pediatric Advanced Life Support training, new adult and child CPR training manikins, a new IV training arm and a pediatric simulator.

Since 1960, Resusci Anne® has been the preferred CPR training manikin of healthcare professionals and trained more than 400 million people in critical lifesaving skills. Our new Anne will be training Ely-Bloomenson staff for years to come.

Again, thank you! From Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital and the Community Liaison Committee.

93 percent of facility’s employees received influenza vaccination in 2016-17.

Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital was among 139 hospitals and nursing homes from around the state recognized today by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) for achieving high influenza vaccination rates among facility employees during the 2016-17 flu season.

93 percent of EBCH staff, received influenza vaccinations during the past season of the Minnesota FluSafe program. In October, EBCH uses their monthly employee recognition day know as Positive Thursday to promote the vaccination program by hosting “Shot and Beer Day”. Members of the Patient Relations Committee go around the facility offering the influenza vaccination along with a refreshing root beer. The facility received a blue ribbon and certificate of achievement from Minnesota Commissioner of Health Edward Ehlinger for its efforts.

The FluSafe program aims to get 100 percent of all health care personnel at hospitals and nursing homes in Minnesota, except those with medical exemptions, vaccinated against influenza each season. According to state health officials, unvaccinated health care workers can potentially pass highly contagious influenza to their patients, many of whom are at high risk for complications from influenza.

Of the 149 facilities that participated in FluSafe this year, 67 reached vaccination rates of 90 percent or greater, 41 reached rates of between 80 and 89 percent, and 31 reached rates of between 70 and 79 percent. Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital was the only facility from St. Louis County to receive blue ribbon statis.

“After seven years of FluSafe, we continue to be grateful for – and impressed by – the important steps participating facilities are taking to prevent flu through health care worker vaccination,” said Kristen Ehresmann, director of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Prevention and Control at MDH.

Health care facilities participating in the FluSafe program receive guidance and access to tools and promotional materials from MDH and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help them increase their influenza vaccination rates. The facilities record and document their vaccination rates through the state’s immunization information system, the Minnesota Immunization Information Connection (MIIC).

More information on the FluSafe program, including a list of the 2016-17 facilities earning blue, red, and white ribbons, can be found on mdhflu.com.

Come help the hospital celebrate its 60th Anniversary on August 19th in Whiteside Park, where you’ll be able to walk through the MEGA Body Exhibit and peruse a Health Expo.

The celebration will kick off with opening remarks and a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10:00 am. This family-friendly event is free and open to all as the hospital’s way of saying “thank you” for supporting us for the past 60 years. The festivities continue until 4:00 pm.

Click image to enlarge.

The Medical Inflatables’™ MEGA Body Exhibit is a larger-than-life, walk-through model of the entire human body, where children and adults alike can experience the inner workings of various systems of the body, and learn that the choices we make can have a huge effect on our well-being today and in the future. The exhibit is available through a generous donation from the Ely Health and Hospital Foundation.

Also available is a Health Expo with tables sponsored by a wide variety of local promoters of healthy living. There will be hand-outs, giveaways, demonstrations and speakers throughout the day.

If you are interested in sponsoring a table or learning about some of the opportunities that EBCH has to offer groups and organizations interested in using this event as a fundraiser, please contact event coordinator Jodi Martin at 218-365-8739 for more details.

The spirit of giving is still alive and well in Ely as was demonstrated on July 14th and 15th at the home of the Jamnick family. Six great-great grandchildren of Edward Zupancich, a founding member of the Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital Board of Directors, held a lemonade stand to raise money to purchase each of the young family members a share in the hospital.

“Our grandparents (Ed and Molly) were supporters of this facility through being a board member and Molly being a hospital volunteer. We feel that it is important for this younger generation to be part of this community we love and the community support is important. Through the community, we raised $483 and with the support of our family, we contributed the rest to make their $600 goal for each one to have a share,” said family member Theresa Harris.

The family knew of the goal set by Community Benefit and Public Relations Coordinator for the hospital, Jodi Martin, to sell 60 new shares throughout 2017 in celebration of our 60th Anniversary and used their annual “Jamnick Family Fun Weekend” as an amazing way to help the hospital reach that goal!

Being a shareholder allows individuals and businesses a say in hospital business through the election of board members at our annual meeting. Shares are sold today for the same price as they were in 1957 of $100. Become a Member and buy a share today!

“Poison” doesn’t always just mean the usual substances we think of such as cleaning supplies, insecticides and pest control products. Poisoning can happen with things we see in our homes every day. According to the National Poison Prevention Council (the Council), “In reality, anything can be poisonous when used in the wrong amount, in the wrong way, or by the wrong person. Even medicines which are designed to help us maintain our health can be poisonous.” That is what students learned on April 6, 2017 when students in Kindergarten through 8th grade visited Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital (EBCH) to learn a little bit about poisons and create a poster that will be submitted to the Council’s annual contest.

Jayden & Lindi Zemke and Violet Udovich hard at work on their poison prevention postersOnce students had a chance to finish their afterschool snack and learn some of the poison prevention information it was time to go to work. Crayons, markers, colored pencils and chalk filled the 11×17 pages that would become their artwork submissions. The posters they created could convey one or more of the five National Poison Prevention Week themes or any of the items we talked about during our poison prevention discussion.

The daily themes for National Poison Prevention Week include:

Children Act Fast…So Do Poisons

Poison Centers: Saving You Time and Money

Poisonings Span A Lifetime

Home Safe Home

Medicine Safety

Ella Nappa hard at work on her poison prevention poster

Lindi Zemke shows off her finished poster

Judith Ann Meador with her finished product

Jayden Zemke with his finished poster

Frank Udovich III shows us his poster submission

Hospital staff took care to assure the posters will arrive by the May 15, 2017 deadline. Prizes are awarded in three divisions: kindergarten through 2nd grade, 3rd through 5th grade and 6th through 8th grade. The winning selections from each division will have their poster transformed to include the National Poison Prevention Week dates, the artist name, the Poison Helpline phone number and the Council’s address and website. The winning posters are then published and distributed nationally and will be available during the 2018 National Poison Prevention Week Campaign, which takes place annually during the third week of March.

This event was put together by Ely-Bloomenson as a community benefit to teach Kids about the dangers of poison while having a little bit of fun. We are trying to use this year in celebration of our 60th Anniversary as a catalyst to provide more community benefit opportunities that involve children. We believe that when they have opportunities to visit the hospital for fun things it might just make it a little less stressful when they need to visit us for an emergency.

This is the first event of this kind that Ely-Bloomenson has held in some time and is just one of many events planned for 2017. There are several events currently in various planning stages with our big 60th Anniversary celebration scheduled for Saturday, August 19, 2017 in Whiteside Park, where EBCH, with funding assistance from a generous donation from the Ely Health and Hospital Foundation, will present the Medical Inflatable™, MEGA Body Exhibit and Health Expo. Event information will follow throughout the summer but mark your calendar now and be sure not to miss this exciting event. The MEGA Body Exhibit will be open to the public and totally free to attend as the hospital’s way of saying “Thank you” for 60 years of supporting local, independent health care for Ely and our surrounding service area.

Thank you to all the EBCH employees who donated to raise food & funds for the Ely Food Shelf through our November “Positive Thursday” Campaign. With your help we were able to donate 170 pounds of food and goods plus $221.00 (which equals over $2000.00 in buying power for the food shelf!). Shown in the picture is Jodi Martin, EBCH Community Benefit and Public Relations Coordinator, presenting a donation from Ely Bloomenson Community Hospital staff to volunteers from the Ely Food Shelf.